Rickshaws for India

www.thehungrypeople.org

This is an impressive charity. Some may have to suspend their hatred of Christianity to appreciate it, but at the end of the day a rickshaw is a rickshaw.

Originally posted by huntingbear
www.thehungrypeople.org

This is an impressive charity. Some may have to suspend their hatred of Christianity to appreciate it, but at the end of the day a rickshaw is a rickshaw.

So! Don't just stand there! Go and take the ride! 🙂

(P.S.: It will cost no less than Rs.9 🙄)

Originally posted by huntingbear
www.thehungrypeople.org

This is an impressive charity. Some may have to suspend their hatred of Christianity to appreciate it, but at the end of the day a rickshaw is a rickshaw.

Originally posted by Acolyte
[If you help people by sponsoring a rickshaw] ...God is bound by His Word to see that these good things come to pass in your life.

I remember reading that line. I disagree with it theologically.

Poor families get free rickshaws

That's the impressive part.

Jesus gets free advertising

I have mixed feelings about that. I guess I'd rather the signs weren't on the rickshaws. Again, though, if I were a rickshaw driver struggling to get by, I wouldn't complain about it.

and sponsors will be rewarded by God.

I prefer to think that sponsors are doing their duty before God, reward or not, out of love for Him and others. Of course, I don't speak for all the sponsors...

To be fair, they are helping people. But there are plenty of other charities with similar ideas who aren't quite so motivated by a desire to 'save the souls' of the people they help.

I wish they said more about that. Do they help anyone, or just Christians? Hopefully the former. Do they attempt any pushier forms of evangelism, or just the signs on the rickshaws? These are questions I'll be asking them.

But the bottom line for me is the question: is it better for the poor guy to have his own rickshaw, or not?

If you can refer me to similar charities, I'd be much appreciative. I love the idea of giving someone a reliable income to free them from poverty. I know I appreciate dearly the employment opportunities available to me in this country, allowing me to provide for my family.

I think India will need more than a few free autos to pull it out of poverty.....

....autos are exceptionally cheap to take anyway. I've not paid more than 25rupees for a journey, and most are <10r (that works out as 8p). The money would be far better sent on sexual health and womens rights awareness campaigns.....things that are not generally high on religious groups priority list sadly.

Still, any charity is better than no charity

Mark

Originally posted by mmanuel
I think India will need more than a few free autos to pull it out of poverty

Pulling India out of poverty? I don't think anyone said anything about that. The charity is designed to help individual Indians (and not just any individual Indians, but poor Indian rickshaw drivers, and their dependents). I think pulling India as a country out of poverty is quite beyond the design of the charity.

I've not paid more than 25rupees for a journey, and most are <10r (that works out as 8p).

I think that helps make clear just how crippling it is for a rickshaw operator to have to rent a rickshaw, often for as much as half the income he collects.

The money would be far better sent on sexual health and womens rights awareness campaigns.....things that are not generally high on religious groups priority list sadly.

Trying to help the poor does not mean that a person has no concern for sexual health issues and the rights of oppressed women. Similarly, if a charity was dedicated to women's rights, that would not mean that people involved with the charity didn't care about the poor.

Painting 'religious groups' requires using a very wide brush. You are painting over some spots which you shouldn't.

However, because you are in India you may have a better idea which are higher priorities, so I am very grateful for your observations.
I will attempt a Google search, but if you can refer me to organizations (religious or secular, I don't care) devoted to sexual health education in India, or to fighting the oppression of women in India, that would be helpful.

Still, any charity is better than no charity

And maybe a back-handed compliment is better than no compliment.
Than again, maybe not.

I try putting myself in the shoes of an Indian man operating a rickshaw all day for such paltry fares, trying to support a family, and having to pay ridiculously high rental fees for the equipment necessary for his livelihood. If my family were under-nourished, poorly clothed, badly sheltered, and so forth, and someone provided me the means to increase my income dramatically (perhaps even by 100% or more), then I can imagine I'd be very grateful.